Director Spike Lee has never been afraid to shy away from controversial movies about race. The film the propelled Lee into superstardom was Do The Right Thing, a movie about racial violence in Lee's hometown of Brooklyn. The movie itself was controversial due to its dichotomy of how to deal with race relations, either peacefully or militantly. Lee continued this trend by making one of the most significant biopics of all time, with Denzel Washington starring in Malcolm X. Over the past decade or so, Lee's films have fallen into irrelevance, even resorting to crowdfunding as a source of production for Da Sweet Blood of Jesus. I am happy to say that with new producing partner Jordan Peele (Get Out) Lee is back to form with his latest "joint," BlackkKlansman.
Blackklansman is loosely based on the life of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), a detective who infiltrated the KKK. To fully complete the investigation, he needed the help of detective Phillip "Flip" Zimmerman (Adam Driver), a Jewish "white boy." They both used the persona of Stallworth, but with the real Stallworth making the phone calls. Eventually, the infiltration was successful enough to get the attention of Grand Wizard/National Director of the Klan David Duke (Topher Grace).
This film was brilliant to me. Lee has never failed to show similarities between times of past and racial injustices continuing today. A prime example of this is Nelson Mandela reading a speech by Malcolm X in the epilogue of that film. Lee does this film as a response to Trumpism and the White Nationalist roots that it is a derivative of. The film opens with a stunning monologue delivered by Alec Baldwin as famous Confederate films like Gone With the Wind and The Birth of a Nation play in the background. It is a jarring and clever way to open a story and show the full picture of racism in the 20 century. Lee also makes sure his screenplay reflects phrases synonymous with Trump as "Make America Great Again" and "America First." With the historical rooting and the ties to the present, it gives the viewer a more detailed idea of the parallels among the times and allows the story to have far more flesh rather than just bones.
The acting performances in this film are second to none. John Davis Washington emulates his father Denzel in his brilliant use of cadence and bipolarity of his race. He has the swagger mixed flawlessly with the sophistication. Adam Driver consistently shows that he is so much more than the whiny bitch Kylo Ren that his created his fame. It was some of the supporting performances however that stole the show. Laura Harrier showed some real acting chops, far more than the bland role she was given in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Topher Grace does a perfect emulation of Duke, even though he claimed he needed to take "several showers" after playing the sleazy role. The two perfect cinematic villains were played by a couple of Felix and Connie Kendrickson (Jasper Paakkonen and Ashlie Atkinson) Their performances showed the true villainy of what scares us the most, the horrifical thoughts inside the minds of our everyday white nationalist neighbors. The acting is great, but BlackKlansman had particularly great people behind the scenes.
BlackKlansman to me was the best screenplay I've seen on the screen in quite some time. It's hard to believe that this was writing teams Charlie Wachtel and David Rabinowitz's first full feature length screenplay made into a film. The monologues, in particular, were something to be noted. Whether the previously mentioned Baldwin one, the invigorating speech by Kwame Ture (Corey Hawkins), or the dueling speeches delivered by Grace and that real life Civil Rights leader who shall not be named for spoiler sakes, the film relished in meaty dialogue. Chayse Irvin's choppy yet beautiful cinematography is utilized in a way to further that shakiness of the times. the long shots are beautiful, but the editing pulled by Barry Alexander Brown is some of the best editing seen since Baby Driver. The final umph in the film was the epilogue that tied it into modern times. The enjoyable film gets the poignancy that makes the ending so harrowing. Rivaling Schindler's List as one of the most powerful endings to a film ever, BlackKlansman was only the 31st movie in my life to make me cry. (Yes I keep track.)
The film is one of those movies that shows what truly does make American Cinema great. It is a perfect reflection of our current issues in Trump's America. Lee has delivered us one of those films that we will remember for a very, very long time.
Grade (10/10)
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